Why ‘Flowers in the Attic’ still haunts author Margarita Montimore – Orange County Register

Margarita Montimore is the author of “The Dollhouse Academy” and other books. She spoke with Michael Schaub about the novel, and here she takes the Book Pages Q&A.

Q. How do you decide what to read next?

Sometimes it’s easy, because it’ll be a novel I’ve been asked to blurb or the next selection for the book club I’m part of. Sometimes it’ll be a random book that I hear about and feel an immediate need to read. Other times, it’s a process that takes ages where I’ll start and stop half a dozen books before I find one that grabs me.

Q. Do you remember the first book that made an impact on you?

“Flowers in the Attic” by V.C. Andrews. Every girl in my generation read that book at way too young an age (I was 9 or 10), which was part of the thrill — it felt like we were reading something we weren’t supposed to. It’s such a dark and twisted story, one that haunts me to this day.

Q. Is there a book you’re nervous to read?

“A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. It’s a doorstopper, the cover alone intimidates me, and by all accounts it’s a traumatizing read. I worry it’ll be the “Requiem for a Dream” of novels, where I’ll find it a work of genius but cry for days after. But I’m still dying to read it … someday.

Q. Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any titles or narrators you’d recommend?

Yes, I love audiobooks. My favorite narrators are Xe Sands and Brittany Pressley. I fell in love with Sands’s voice when I first listened to “The Echo Wife” by Sarah Gailey (highly recommended) and then hunted down other books she’s narrated (“Plain Bad Heroines” by Emily M. Danforth is another great one). Pressley did such an outstanding job narrating my book “Oona Out of Order,” I sought out others she’s narrated (“Honey” by Isabel Banta is fantastic). When it came time to picking narrators for my latest one, “The Dollhouse Academy,” I said I’d love it if we could get Xe and Brittany, and I was thrilled that they both signed on — they did an amazing job!

Q. Is there a genre or type of book you read the most – and what would you like to read more of?

I tend to read a lot of general/contemporary/book club fiction, and I love books that blur genre lines, which is also the type of stuff I write. If we’re talking strict genres, I do enjoy thrillers, some historical fiction, and lighter sci-fi, but I like to mix it up. I’d like to read more classics, which are more of a challenge for me to connect with. But I think it’s important to challenge yourself as a reader.

Q. Do you have a favorite book or books?

So many. “House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski, “The Raw Shark Texts” by Steven Hall, “Possession” by A.S. Byatt, “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith, “Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth” by Chris Ware, and multiple titles by Margaret Atwood and Lionel Shriver.

Q. Is there a person who made an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian or someone else?

My mother got me into reading at an early age. She read books to me frequently in my early childhood and then took me to get my first library card when I was nine years old. I’ve been a voracious reader ever since.

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